Coffin.



J. DUNAHUFLy OOFFIN. PPLIo'ATIoN mman Jun z'r, wos.

Patented June 15,1909.

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J .1 DONAHUE.

COFFIN APPLICATION FILED .TUNEZ'L 1908.

Patented June 15P 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

Inventor;

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rinirn sri-iras ingerir onmen- JOHN DONAHUE, OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.

COFFIN.

To all whom it may concern.'v

Be it known that i, Jenn DONAHUE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Knoxville, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Collins, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My improvement relates particularly to features of construction whereby the coffin is provided by economical means with convenient, efficient, and permanent handles.

The object of the invention is to provide such a handle structure all the parts of which may be made and embodied in the coflin by the manufacturer having the usual mechanical facilities for mairing coflins.

The improvement is applicable to wooden, metaliic, and plastic collins.

In the accomp anying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a wooden coffin embodying my improvement Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of F ig. 1 5 Fig. i is a detail elevation of a portion of the side of a sheet metal coffin embodying my improvement Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of. Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4 Figs. 7 and 8 show wooden side walls in which the cavities adjacent the handles are cut entirely through the wall and the openings thus formed covered with sheet metal Figs. 9, l and 1l illustrate sheet metal coverings for the handle bar, Fig. l1 being a section on the line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

Referring first to Figs. l, 2 and 3, A is the upright side wall of a wooden coffin. At any desired number of points along said wall at which it is desired to make provision for engagement by the hand, a cavity, B, is formed in the outer face of said wall. The form of said cavity is preferably horizontally oblong and concave. The drawings show three suoli cavities in the one side wall. Said cavities may be formed by rotating a half spherical cutting head and moving it into the side wall, A, to the desired depth and parallel to the length of the wall to malte the cavity horizontally oblong. The cutting is preferably not deep enough to extend entirely through the wall g but the cutting may extend entirely through the wall and the opening thus made afterward covered by a plate placed on the inner face of the wall, as will be hereinafter described.

A bar, O, is laid lengthwise over the outer Specification of Letters Fatent.

Application filed June .27, 1968.

atenteci J'une 15, 1909.

Serial No. 440,723.

face of the wall, A, so as to extend across each of the cavities, B, and is secured to said wall in any suitable manner, as by means of screws, D, extending through said bar into said wall or by means of screws, E, extending through said wall into said bar. The ends of said bar and the portions thereof between said cavities are preferably amply wide for affording a broad and substantial bearing against said wall; but the portions, c, which extend across said cavities are to be narrow enough to be conveniently grasped by the hand and to leave room for the hand to enter the cavity above and below said portion of the bar. rFhe bar, O, is preferably made only approximately as thick as the molding, F, at the up )er edge of the coffin and the molding, G, at tne bottom of thevcoffin, in order that said bar will )reject little if any laterally beyond said mo dings. This feature is a material advantage in storing, boxing, shipping, or taking the coffin in and out of rooms and hearses.

In Figs. 4, and 6, the upright wall, H, (corresponding to the wall, A, of Figs. 1, 2 and 3) of the coffin consists of sheet metal, and the cavity, I, is formed by pressing the sheet metal of the wall inward. The bar, O, is secured to the Wall by screws, E, extending through the latter into the bar.

1n the form shown in Fig. 7, the wooden wall, A, is cut entirely through to form the cavity, B, and a sheet metal plate, J, is placed upon the inner face of said wall and across the opening thus formed and secured to said wall by any suitable means, as by nails, K. In Fig. 8 the wall is also cut through, as in Fig. 7, and a dished sheet metal plate, L, is laid into the opening with its flat edges resting against the outer face of the wall and there secured in any suitable manner as by means of nails, K. Said plate, L, may be of ornamental form and present the color of the metal or it may be covered with paint or cloth.

Figs. 9, l0 and 11 illustrate a sheet metal covering, M, surrounding the portion, c, of the bar, O, and having its ends flattened and resting upon the outer face of said bar at each side of the portion, c. 1n Fig. 10, the ends of the covering, M, are expanded so as to rest also upon the wall, A, of the co'fhn. In both Figs. 9 and 10, screws, N, extend through the covering, M, into the bar, O, and in Fig. 10, screws, O, also extend through said covering, M, directly into the Wall, A.

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Said sheet metal covering serves to strengthen or reinforce the bar, C, and may also be made to serve as an ornament to the coffin.

In each Wall, A, of the coffin illustrated by Figs. l and 2 one cavity, B, is formed and a bar, C, long enough to cover the end of the coffin is extended horizontally' across said cavity.

It will be observed that the bar, C, is applied to the walls of the coffin in such manner as to strengthen said walls. And it is to be observed that said bars may be made by machinery and by methc ds in ordinary use in cofiin factories and that the cavities, B, may be formed by means of such machinery as a coffin manufacturer' either has or can readily procure and operate through the workmen who carry on other operations in the manufacture of coffins. In other words, all portions of this improvement are of such nature as to be well adapted to the ordinary equipment and workmanship of coflin factories, whereas most of the handles now put upon cofins are of such nature that they are necessarily eX- pensive and made outside of the coffin trade by manufacturers who specialize.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a coffin, a wall having in its outer face a cavity, and a bar extending horizontally across said cavity and resting upon and secured to the outer face of said wall to form a handle.

2. In a coffin, a wall having in its outer face a cavity, and a bar extending horizontally across said cavity and resting upon and secured to said -wall to form a handle, said bar being of smaller cross section opposite said cavity.

3. In a coffin, a wall having in its outer face a cavity, a bar extending horizontally across said cavity and resting upon and secured to the outer face of said wall to form a handle, and a sheet metal covering applied to said bar opposite said cavity.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 25th day of June, in the year one thousand nine hundred and eight.

JOHN DONAHUE.

Witnesses J. PIKE POWERS, Jr., CYRUs KEER. 

